Alaska Travel Answers

I always recommend Wrangell St. Elias over Denali. Denali is much more developed so has more ammenities, lodges, and crowds. Not quite as bad as Yellowstone or Yosemite but far more people that I expected. Wrangell St Elias is huge - the largest in North America - with very few lodges but more road access, more camping just about anywhere you want and more chances of seeing wildlife. You could stay at the Copper Center Princess lodge by the entrance and then drive in to McCarthy / Kennicott Mine. Or there are lodges and cabins in and around McCarthy.

Just realized you are the person that was previously asking about Seward vs Valdez for kayaking. If you decide to head to Wrangell St Elias then I'd recommend heading to Valdez afterwards for kkayaking. Plenty of guides/rentals avail for Prince Williams Sound and it is a huge and fairly protected body of water.

Yes Rick, I am the same person who asked because we are trying to decide if we want to do Seward for sea kayaking combined with Talkeetna and Denali National Park or if we want to do Valdez/Prince William Sound and Wrangell St Elias National Park instead. Definitely want the best scenery and wildlife as well as ability to stay at lodges/hotels (we aren't campers). Would love to kayak up to glacier and amongst icebergs with awesome scenery. Still undecided....thoughts?

Hmmm Lots of factors. Bottom line is either plan would work fine. I know the NPS is trying to steer folks away from Denali toward Wrangell-St E to try and find a solution to the over crowding of the park. But your time frame is good as it is the tail end of the cruise season so crowds will be thinning. There are lodges at both parks. I hear there is a new one at Kennicott. As far as kayaking I've heard good things about both. I just got into it 6 years ago and have only kayaked here in Kodiak and out further west in the Aleutians (the rental in Hawaii doesn't count). Really comes down to the parks. Wrangel St E is more authentic but perhaps not as many ammenities.

We went to both on a very long camping trip some years ago. They are both utterly gorgeous. The thrill of Denali to us was seeing the mountain up close and personal. We were very fortunate in weather as we had clear views on two days. You can't count on that but I woul have no idea what your chances are in September. We were there in early July. If you can visit both, take the opportunity unless you think you'll be back reasonably soon. Yes, Denali was crowded but we did see wildlife there too. Our most exciting encounter was south of Fairbanks when a very large moose ran in front of our car! Is there such a thing as a small moose? ;^) Enjoy your trip.

Good moose question. I think there's big and then there's bigger :)

Wrangell St is better and i also recommended it enjoying more great times. It is a place where many beautiful places are located and more fun for every stage of life's persons. I hope your will also be agree with me on my opinion.

I'd recommend driving down to Wrangell, Valdez, etc. Then, travel up the Richardson Highway on the eastern side of Denali National Park. You get amazing views of Denali, Moose's Tooth, and Bear Tooth. Travel up to Fairbanks and then south through Denali to Talkeetna. Make sure you stop at the Talkeetna Road House. How are you traveling? Renting a car or an RV? If you plan to rent an RV, look into Great Alaskan Holidays. My wife Angie is a reservationist with them. Their 'Winibago Chalets' are excellent. Very clean.

The first thing to ask is: are you renting a car? If so, you might want to check if your rental company even allows their cars to go on the McCarthy Road. Same for the Denali Highway, which goes from the Richardson Highway at Paxon to the Parks Highway just south of Denali N.P. at Cantwell. Visitor activities at Wrangell-St.Elias N.P are far less developed than Denali. I would recommend looking at the National Park Service site and see what is available in WSENP in mid-September, as some services may already be closed for the season.